Alfred Watkins, discovered leylines in 1921 from his realization that a series of straight lines could link all of the Earth's various landmarks into a network of ancient tracks. "Watkins believed that this alignment could not be due to mere chance. He believed that prehistoric man had deliberately made the tracks as a sort of road network, using the various landmarks as sighting points. Many of them are situated on hilltops where they could be seen against the horizon, and thus made excellent reference points for the Neolithic or Bronze Age traveller. He first voiced his discoveries in public at a slide-show and lecture to fellow members of the Woolhope Club where, although treated with some scepticism, they were well received and aroused keen interest.

A few months later, in 1922, Watkins published his first book about Leys, called the "Early British Trackways". During the next three years he continued to amass evidence to back up his proposals concerning Ley Lines. His best known book on the subject, "The Old Straight Track", first published in 1925, is still in print. In 1927, Alfred Watkins published the "Ley Hunter's Manual" which became a popular guide for field-workers. During the 1920s, the Old Straight Track Club was formed, with Watkins as president."

Leylines are thought to be magnetic in nature, the same "lines" that birds, mammals, insects and bacteria use to migrate across long distances. Many ancient and more recent man-made structures are thought to be built on leylines, or at the point where two or more leylines interconnect. Examples include Stonehenge, mounds, churches, roads, and so on. The point where the lines meet often coincide with an energy vortex. These sites are considered
sacred.

Famous occultist Dion Fortune explained her idea that ley lines were "lines of power" that linked prehistoric sites, in her 1936 novel "The Goat-Foot God". Others have suggested that ley lines followed the lines of cosmic energy in the Earth and could be dowsed. In the 1960s, ley lines became linked with UFO sightings by other theorists. In his 1969 book, "The View Over Atlantis", John Michell discussed leylines within the context of geomancy. By 1974, ley lines and geomancy, plus other esoteric subjects having to do with the Earth, were collected under the umbrella term of "Earth Mysteries and Magic".

Within this magical context, people have relearned how to work with leylines in a magical way - just as the ancients magi did. They knew that leylines were force lines, mana lines that naturally conduct magical energy. Tim Keating discussed this approach in detail in his article, "Laying It On The Line."

Diagrams and descriptions of some "mapped" leylines are viewable at the following websites: